What A Gem
by Animelover210
Summary: Evra Von is lonely after Darren Shan leaves the Cirque for Vampire Mountain. Will a new girl who can cough up precious crystals help fill the void? EvraXOC Rated M just in case. Mix of both movie and books.
1. Meet Kattrina

Author's Note: Its going to be a mix of both the books and the new movie. I've seen the movie 2 times already and for some reason think Evra's snake is called Puff. Unless I get some evidence as to what he called it, I'm keeping it as Puff...frankly because its a hilarious name for a snake.

And there is NO REBECCA in this story because it was a mistake to even put her in there...

------------------

Evra stared at his breakfast with a sigh. Darren had only been with them at the Cirque for a little while and now he was off to Vampire Mountain. But now it was boring again. Darren was the only one close to his age. The next in line was Gertha and he prefered keeping a safe distance from those chompers.

Mr. Tall had left with Corma Limbs into the nearby town. They were going to perform in the local abandoned theatre that night and they were making sure everything would be okay to set up.

Puff was anxious already for the upcoming show.

"Try not to wreck my music again. A record producer might be there."

He went back to his tent and set her in her pile of blankets.

"Time for chores. Try not to cause any trouble."

----------------

Corma was happy with the new location. They would only be in town for three nights but it was at least cleaner than most places. A few broken planks here or there, a broken spotlight from a set of four, and the occasional cockroach.

"Will this be all right? I apoligize. We tried to fix up but money is tight now."

She looked at the older man who was next to Mr. Tall. The man was even taller in comparison to the theatre owner.

His name was Edward Waisbren. Late seventies with a frail body, a cane, and an oxygen tank on his side. His snow white hair was thin and was only left in clumps. He wore a suit which appeared to have been with him all his life.

"Its spectacular, Edward. Thank you."

Waisbren coughed.

"Are you all right?" Corma asked.

"Fine. Too many years of smoking. Should have spent all that money keeping this place in better order. No one wants to book with us anymore."

He sighed.

"I've arranged for it to be torn down after your performances."

Mr. Tall grimaced.

"Edward, you've had this place since your grandfather."

"Its too expensive to manage. And I have a person already offering for the land. I can use it to hire that care taker Kattrina has been asking me to get."

Mr. Tall vaguely remembered the young girl. She was such a tiny baby many didn't know if she would survive in the world. And with her clueless parents. They hadn't planned on children and had no idea what to do. And then they found out how Kattrina was...unique.

Kattrina was only a few months old when she was taken to the hospital. They had taken her into the market when she put a rock in her mouth. Her parents were frantic and begged the staff to do something.

As they prepared her for surgery, Kattrina coughed.

She coughed and coughed until something came out of her mouth.

It wasn't the small dirty rock that she swallowed. Now it was clear and see through. A crystal.

Her parents gave Kattrina over to Edward, a dear family friend. They couldn't handle a child from the start and had no idea on what to do with one who could turn rocks into gems.

Mr. Tall was wondering if she could still use that power.

"How is Kattrina?"

"She's a fine girl. Just a wonderful help. She's so mature and never complains when she needs to help this decrepit old man. Most likely she's by the river."

Corma took the hint from Mr. Tall.

"I'm going to explore around the town and let you two talk buisness."

----------------

Corma went to the river and saw a large pile of rocks by a pile of clothes. She went over and started sifting through them.

Some were smooth, others were jagged, a few were oddly shaped, and several were very thin.

A teenage girl came out of the water.

"Hey! Thats mine!"

Corma put down the rock in her hand and backed away.

The girl was different than she thought. She expected a young girl who would still play with dolls. This was a woman more than a girl. Her light brown hair had natural blonde highlights that went to her upper back, her eyes were a light blue, and her skin was tanned. She was in a small bikini with pink dots on it.

"Are you Kattrina?"

"Who wants to know?" she asked quickly putting on her clothes.

"I'm Corma Limbs. I'm with the Cirque."

Kattrina was horrified. She put on her most sincere smile.

"Please excuse my previous behavior. It was unladylike of me."

She hated kissing ass but she had to do it. They were giving Mr. Waisbren a lot of money for using the theatre. She had to make sure they didn't want to change their minds.

"Yes, I am Kattrina."

"Mr. Tall told me about your special gift."

Kattrina laughed while revolting herself on the inside.

"I wish I had a better ability than coughing up special crystals."

"Can I see it? I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

_Just do it and get over it._

Kattrina found a smaller rock, since those were faster, and swallowed it.

"My gift takes different amounts of time depending on the size of the rock. Based on its shape or form, they vary in colors."

A familiar tingling in her throat alerted her of the completion. She started hacking and held out her hand a few inches away. People didn't believe her unless they could actually see the gem coming out of her mouth.

Corma took the small blue crystal and looked at it. It wasn't shaped nicely but with some decent cutting, it would make a nice piece of jewelry.

"Amazing."

Kattrina didn't want to risk insulting her by asking her to use her power.

"I can't change how they are shaped so I try to find some rocks that aren't abnormal."

Corma suddenly broke off her right ring finger. Kattrina made a small scream and fell backwards.

"Wh-What did you just do?!"

She was surprised to see a new finger grow in its place.

"I can regrow body parts. Haven't tried my head yet but I can cut off my arms, legs, ears, and lips."

Kattrina shook.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Not really. I got used to it. Does it hurt for your rocks?"

"I guess I just got used to them too."

Corma went over and put her arm around Kattrina.

"Want to show me how to work the controls in the theatre?"

--------------

Corma and Mr. Tall returned to the group right at the start of dinner.

"Is everything ready?" Rhamus Twobellies asked.

"Yes. Everyone eat well, get some rest, and get your acts ready. We go on at midnight!"

Everyone cheered and began eating.

Evra fed Puff a live rat when Mr. Tall went over.

"Don't plan on making another musical debut."

He groaned.

"But Puff is going to help!"

"The show is about showing how different we are. Boys like you are always on stage blasting out at roll and rock music."

"Its rock and roll."

"It makes no difference."

"I am different though! How many of those boys have green scales and no eyelids?!"

"Evra. Do not raise your voice or you will not be in the show at all."

Evra bit his tongue and nodded.

"I'm sorry."

--------------

Evra and the Cirque began setting up for rehearsal in the old theatre. An elderly man sat in one of the seats and watched with excited eyes.

"I haven't seen your show in over thirty years."

A girl went over and sat next to him.

Evra had seen plenty of women in the audience for the show but she was...pretty.

Some of the women would dress in Halloween costumes for the show or be dressed in entirely black as if they were at a funeral.

This girl had on a long-sleeved red shirt, a white vest, and a pair of tight jeans. Her caramel colored hair had light streaks of blonde.

His mouth went dry and a lump formed in his throat. His eyes darted from the lights he was working on to her.

She had a smile on her face. One of the most amazing he had ever seen.

Corma went over to her after catching Evra's shy glimpses.

"What do you think?"

"Its different than I expected. I thought it would be things like guys with a billion piercings or something."

Evra bit his lower lip and tried to stop his shaky hands.

"Evra!" Corma called.

"Yeah?" he said keeping his face away from Kattrina's view.

"How's it going up there?"

"Good."

Corma huffed. This wasn't how she wanted it to go.

"Should I send Kattrina up there to help?"

"No!" he said quickly. "I can do this!"

A light bulb slipped from his hands that was quickly caught by Kattrina.

Corma took it from her hands.

"Can you see how everything is backstage for me, please?"

"Yes, Madam."

Kattrina went backstage and Evra sighed.

"Stupid, what are you doing?"

Evra got down and took the bulb from her.

"I could ask you the same thing. What are you trying to do?"

She smiled.

"I saw the way you were looking at her. You could barely keep your eyes off of her."

Blood rushed to his cheeks.

"Quiet, Corma! You don't know what you're-"

"Its natural for a young man to develop a crush. Especially on a girl as cute as her."

He turned back to his work and muttered under his breath.

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Welcome

"Time for the practice run! Mr. Waisbren and Kattrina will be our audience so let's do our best!"

Mr. Tall took the stage and began his usual introduction. It warned people how dangerous the show was going to be and how to be cautious with some of the acts.

Evra peeked behind the curtain and watched Kattrina's reactions.

She was somewhat grossed out by Alexander Ribs but very much enjoyed Hans Hands and his running. Truska didn't like Kattrina and it showed in her eyes.

In her strange language, she went over to Evra.

"That girl... I don't like her."

"Why?"

"She's too pretty," she said before leaving with a huff.

Evra chuckled and waited for Twobellies to finish his act.

Then it would be his turn.

Or it would have been if Puff had not decided to go for a crawl.

------------------

After the man who could eat anything finished, there was a commotion backstage.

Edward Waisbren turned to Kattrina.

"I'm going to check what's wrong."

She nodded while he stood up.

After a few minutes, she felt something slither on her leg.

Kattrina looked down and saw the largest green snake she had ever seen!

"C-Corma!" she shouted trying to stay calm.

The snake coiled around her left leg and traveled up underneath her clothes.

She trembled and called Mr. Tall.

The snake poked it head out through the neck of her shirt

It stared into her eyes before its tongue flicked out and hit her nose.

She giggled and carefully raised her hand underneath its mouth. It looked oddly at it before its head lowered into her hand.

Snakes may not have been her favorite animals but she was always fascinated by them. They could swallow large animals like deer and gazelle and could digest them over the course of days!

"Hello," she said delicately brushing her hand over its scales.

"Who do you belong to?"

The girl called Gertha Teeth stepped on stage and saw Kattrina with the snake.

"Its trying to eat Kattrina!!!"

A group of people rushed out with Evra in front.

"Puff!" he scolded going over.

Blood rushed to his cheeks when he saw Puff tangled around Kattrina under her clothes.

Kattrina was surprised to see Evra was covered in scales. He didn't show her his face while he was working but she wondered if his scales felt like this 'Puff's.'

"She came over to me. I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. She wanders around and gets into trouble."

Kattrina stood up and glanced down at the snake.

"How does this work? Do we just pull her off or is there a trick to it?"

He chuckled and petted Puff's head.

"Get off, Puff."

Kattrina could feel the snake ease up its hold and it started to drop out of her skirt.

Evra leaned down and held out his arm for Puff to wrap around.

"Thank you...um...what's your name again?"

"Evra Von."

Kattrina held out her hand.

"Kattrina. Nice to finally meet you face to face."

His hand trembled as he went to shake hers. When he pulled it back, it was his worst fear.

Pieces of his scales were stuck to her hand.

"I'm sorry."

She smiled.

"Cool! I'm sure you're going to think I'm weird but your scales are really neat!"

Kattrina pulled out a piece of cloth from her back pocket and wiped the scales off her hand.

"You might want to go wash your hands," he said embarrassed.

"Will I get sick?"

"No but its hard to just wipe the scales away."

She smiled.

"Thanks, Evra."

* * *

Corma wanted to cheer. Evra was actually making a connection with the girl.

"Did you speak with her yet?" Alexander asked.

"She doesn't know if she would be a good addition to the Cirque. I thought if we showed her what we do, she might be tempted."

Corma looked over to Rhamus Twobellies.

"We could pull an act where she's your apprentice."

He put his finger to his mouth as he began thinking.

"What we could do is she transforms her rocks and then I eat them. They'll fuse together in my stomach."

"And those gems could be sold after we doll them up a little."

"Plus, Evra seems to have taken a shine to her."

Corma smiled.

"I think she'd like traveling with us. Mr. Waisbren is nice but now she can meet new people."

Mr. Tall cleared his throat.

"If you plan to add any new members, shouldn't you ask my permission first?"

---------------

At the end of the show, when the crowd started leaving, Mr. Tall asked Mr. Waisbren and Kattrina to talk in private.

"I understand you're closing down now. I wish you the best of luck."

"You've always been a good friend, Hibernius."

"Edward, forgive my bluntness but you're getting older."

Mr. Waisbren roared in laughter.

"That's no secret, I assure you!"

"And Miss Kattrina here...she has a few tricks up her sleeves."

"Again with this?!" Kattrina said standing up. "You're asking me to join the Cirque now?"

"Kattrina. Mind your manners."

She looked over to Edward.

"But Corma told me all they do is show their talents. People won't want to see me. I'm not the quickest when it comes to changing stones. A pebble or small rock takes less than a minute but larger stuff takes close to five! People will be bored! They'll laugh!"

"That's your arguement?"

Edward put his hand on her shoulder.

"There's more to life than wondering what others think of you. Didn't you tell me you wanted to travel? You always dreamed of getting out of this town and seeing what you've been missing."

She rubbed her arms nervously.

"Mr. Tall, I truly do want to go but what good could I possibly do?"

"Everyone is required to help in some form or another. What can you do?"

"Um, I can't cook...at all. I'm pretty good with laundry."

"With or without machine?"

"Both. When our machine used to break down, I would wash them outside."

"All right. Anything else?"

"Anything that deals with cleaning. I'm sort of knit-picky about it."

Mr. Tall smiled.

"Welcome to the Cirque."

--------------

Evra sat with Puff in his tent. Since it was autumn, Puff was going to start needing warmer blankets and her heater.

He stroked the snake's scales with a light smile on his face.

"Were you drawn to her like I was?"

She was undeniably beautiful. Was she freaked out by him? Did she secretly hate the way his scales felt on her hand?

He laid back on his bed and sighed.

"Damn. She shouldn't do this to me."

He saw plently of women but she sent his heart pounding and his mind blurry.

"Evra!" Gertha cooed.

He groaned and sat up.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Just thought you would want to take a vote on our possible new member."

"Who?"

"Duh! Kattrina!"

He bolted up, placed Puff in her collection of blankets, and rushed outside.

The Cirque was surrounding Kattrina, who was on a small platform, as she demonstrated her abilities.

"As always, we'll put it to a vote. All for?"

Most of the group raised their hands. Evra raised his hand and tried to avoid looking Kattrina in the eyes.

"Majority outweighs. Welcome, Kattrina."

She bowed and turned a light shade of red.

"Thank you."

Evra nervously stepped over to her.

"Hey. Welcome to the Cirque."

She smiled at him.

"Hi, Evra! I'm so excited! Have you been with the Cirque long? I'm not really sure how everything works."

"As long as I can remember, I've been here. I'll tell you what you need to know. For instance, don't go near the Wolfman. No matter what you do."

She nodded.

"Got it. Wolfman dangerous."

He smiled.

"Actually, I meant he smells like rotten meat and cheese and you'd gag on sight."

Kattrina laughed along with Evra.

"You're funny! I was afraid some of the people here would be all grouchy and have no humor."

"I've got that and more," he said trying to keep his nerves from getting the better of him.


	3. Music

Evra led Kattrina around the Cirque and started explaining some of the rules and people.

"So don't watch him when he eats. He hates it."

She smiled.

"Thank you, Evra."

He felt his cheeks heat up again.

"We're only going to do a few more shows and then go to our winter base."

"What happens there?"

"Its our break time. For a little while, we take it easy and after the holidays, we start practicing for the upcoming shows. You'll probably just manage selling merchandise until spring."

"They told me I might work with Mr. Twobellies."

Evra chuckled.

"Great luck. He's always a crowd pleaser. On occasion, someone will chuck something on stage and ask him to eat it."

Kattrina gagged.

"Not like rotten food, right?"

"Nah."

She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger.

"I'm still adjusting that this is going to be my new home."

"You aren't regretting it, are you?"

There was a slight hitch in Evra's voice.

Kattrina shook her head.

"No, its not like that. Joining the circus had crossed my mind a few times over the years but this is different than I thought. Personally, I'm glad there aren't any elephants."

"Why?"

"They freak me out! They're huge!! They could crush a person like a pancake!"

She trembled.

"I hate elephants."

Evra laughed and led her into his tent.

"What about snakes?"

Kattrina went over and sat next to a pile of blankets. Puff poked her head out and coiled around her arm.

"I like snakes. I understand why people may be grossed out or scared of them but they're sweet if you treat them nicely. Right?"

He smiled.

"Puff must really like you."

Kattrina laughed as Puff's tongue flicked out against her cheek.

"No offense, Puff, but your tongue is so weird!"

"The long tongue?"

"Yeah!"

"Check this out then."

Evra stuck out his tongue and traced the outside of his nostrils with it. Kattrina laughed and he started laughing too.

"That's gross! Don't you taste your snot?"

"I can't make it. I have the cleanest nose. No hair. No snot."

She went over to him and moved barely an inch away.

Evra could feel blood shooting to his face as her hand held his chin.

Kattrina ducked a little lower and looked up his nose.

"Wow. You weren't kidding!"

She didn't realize how close she was to him until she could feel the heat radiating off of him.

Kattrina couldn't help feeling the scales on his chin.

"Your scales on your face feel different than your hands..."

Evra's breath hitched and he stepped back.

"There isn't much difference."

Kattrina looked to the side.

_Maybe he's sensitive about it._

"I didn't mean to insult you or anything. Sorry."

He went over to Puff.

"I'm not mad. I just...I don't exactly get comments like that a lot. Usually people joke and say..."

Evra chuckled.

"There's so many its hard to remember them all."

Kattrina rubbed her left arm, embarrassed.

"I should get going. I'll check in with you later."

---------------

When Kattrina left, Evra went over to his 'recording studio.'

He really didn't plan on getting choked up about his scales. He really liked the way she noticed.

It was how she noticed that made his stomach filled with butterflies.

Evra strummed a few notes on his guitar and played one of the first songs he learned. A member of the Cirque taught him after Evra was entranced by his fast hands.

Santiago. The man had traveled from South America to the Cirque. He was born with an extra set of eyes in the back of his head.

But his work with the guitar was like magic.

Evra was very young and thought it was the strangest thing he ever saw.

Santiago carried four guitars on the road and let Evra practice with an older one in excellent condition.

It only took a few months for Evra to be able to be able to read music and play it. Considering how his scales would stick to the strings, it was even more of a shock.

Puff crawled over and wrapped around Evra's waist as he played.

-----------------

Corma noticed Kattrina sitting at the lunch tent by herself.

"Hi, how are you doing?"

"I think I hurt Evra's feelings."

Corma sat down next to her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?"

"I felt the scales on his face and I said how they felt different than his hands. I guess I upset him."

Kattrina groaned and smacked her head on the table.

"Barely here a few hours and already I've messed up."

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't let one little fight getcha down."

"I've never been around friends my own age. Mr. Waisbren had a lot of friends who would play with me but they were way older. One of them home schooled me."

"Just let Evra cool down a little but and go in to apoligize. He won't stay mad at you."

Corma winked and left.

* * *

Kattrina spent a few more minutes at the table before going back to Evra's tent.

"Evra?" she said poking her head in.

Evra cleared his throat and set down his guitar.

"Come in."

She walked over to him.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Evra. I should've just kept my big mouth shut."

He smiled and looked up at her.

"No problem. Take a seat."

She sat on his bed where he had some music sheets lined out.

Evra jumped up and started putting them away.

"S-Sorry."

"You write your own songs?"

"Nothing very good yet."

She smiled.

"From what you were playing when I walked in, it sounded very good. I wish I could play the guitar."

"I learned from a friend who used to be here."

"Mr. Waisbren's one neighbor taught me all the instruments no one really listens to anymore. The harp, the violin, a little piano but when Arthur came, she couldn't play as well."

"Arthur?"

Kattrina laugh.

"Arthritis. Its a joke some people have. They'll say how 'Arthur paid them a visit.' That means the arthritis is bad."

Evra laughed.

Kattrina blushed and looked at his guitar.

"Can you play another song? I'd really like to hear it."

------------------

Kattrina finally felt like she was making a connection with Evra. He was breath-takingly wonderful. His heart was in his music, his kind and proud heart.

She wondered how he could be so amazing after all he had been through. Parts of his past were so terrible she almost started to cry.

He did let her put her hand over his if he started feeling down.

A hot blush blanketed her face when she felt his scales. She thought they would be cold and slimy but they were warm and soft.

And his eyes were magnificent. She would have to yell at herself to stop looking at them.

The last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself (again) by starting to develop feelings for Evra.

-----------------

Evra's fingers felt like they were going to fall off but Evra willed them to keep playing his music.

With every song, Kattrina smiled more and more. She even played some notes on his keyboard if she was familiar with the song.

She loved music, that much Evra knew. He wished she would sing.

If her singing was as beautiful as she was, then it must be incredible.

It was far passed the late hours and he was certain some of the Cirque members were going to complain the next morning.

And he couldn't care less.

-----------


	4. Chapter 4

My computer memory was completely wiped out...all of my story chapters were erased. Although I was pretty close to where I was, it will take me some time to retype everything. I am working on the new chapter of What A Gem and I hope to work on the Science of Romance and My Baldy very soon. I'm so sorry everybody. I'll try to have a new part for each story by X-Mas. I hope you understand.


	5. Winter Camp

It was amazing how fast two months went by. Kattrina had performed in the last eight shows of the season with Rhamus Twobellies but was far from the star of the show. She was just the sidekick of the 'Man Who Could Eat Anything' as so many spectators called him.

She hated being on stage at first but generally started learning tricks and ways to keep the crowd's attention.

The Cirque members weren't bad either. She was still new so some didn't talk to her much but Rhamus, Mr. Tall, Corma, and Gertha were now her good friends.

Although they weren't as close to her as Evra was.

They spent every other night in each other's tent. Puff enjoyed coiling around Kattrina and sleeping.

Evra was getting more and more open with her and offered to teach her the guitar.

Once she started playing, if sounding like a devil's version of 'twinkle, twinkle' counted as playing, she decided against it.

Evra kind of liked that she didn't know a lot about instruments other than the harp and violin because it made him seem like a genius for once. Sure, he didn't get a lot of schooling besides what Mr. Tall tried to teach him, but it never changed the fact he wanted people to ask him other stuff than about snakes.

Secretly, he had written her a song but hid it underneath his pillow.

No way would he ever let anyone hear that disaster.

Most of his work involved being an outcast and loving it or defying the normal.

It was the first love song he'd ever written.

---------------

They were another day's drive to the winter camp and Kattrina was sitting in one of the trailers with Evra. This one was specifically held for Evra and Puff because it had the best heating.

The road was bumpy and trees seemed to block the view of everything.

She was wearing a short black skirt and a purple top designed like a corset. Evra wasn't wearing a shirt again but had on a black vest with black pants.

"How come you don't like wearing shirts?"

He blushed.

"I don't know. I just like wearing vests and jackets."

She laughed.

"No need to be embarrassed. I was just wondering how you weren't cold."

Evra glanced at her skirt.

"What about you and that?"

She stood up smiled.

"I like showing off my legs."

He certainly loved her legs. Long and slender.

Kattrina moved over to the bed and laid down on it.

"Wow. Even this is heated?"

Evra had to try it. He knew it was but had to see if she would let him.

"It is?"

He went over and laid down next to her.

Since the bed was so small, they were barely a hair away from each other.

"You're right."

Kattrina blushed and turned to her side.

"Thanks for helping me so much these two months. You really helped me get used to this place."

He smiled and tilted his head to her.

"I should be thanking you. You helped me with my chores and then took some of them over. It gives me more time with my music."

"Mr. Tall should let you play during intermission. That way its not taking away from the show or anything, you know?"

She blushed.

"You're brilliant with your guitar and could easily be a leading act."

Evra looked into her eyes.

"Think so?"

"Of course. I wouldn't sneak over every other night to listen to it. Remember when the gang used to complain how I went every night?"

He laughed and put his arm behind his head.

"I thought Loafhead was going to destroy my drum set."

The trailer jerked and Puff fell down from her shelf onto the bed.

Kattrina laughed and wrapped Puff around her.

"Someone wake you up?"

Evra leaned over and stroked Puff's head.

"Looks like she's still asleep."

"She is?"

He pointed to her eyes.

"Remember we don't have eyelids? She sleepcrawls."

Evra picked Puff back up and placed her in a bundle of blankets underneath the bed.

"Will she be okay down there? Is there enough room?"

"Yeah," he said happily.

He was touched that she was concerned for Puff.

Kattrina yawned and reached over Evra for a pillow. While he blushed, she fiddled her hand on the ground.

"Where is it?" she groaned.

He leaned down and grabbed what she was after.

Corma had taken her shopping last month while they were in a bigger city. Kattrina had found the pillow at a sale.

It was pale white with a golden border and was as soft as feathers.

"This is such an old lady pillow."

"Be quiet! I like it!"

She cuddled up with the pillow.

"I love it."

Evra smiled.

"You want to go to bed?"

She shook her head.

"Just resting my eyes."

The Cirque had just pulled an all night show, as tradition for the final show of the fall.

She fell asleep within a few minutes.

Evra chuckled as she snuggled close to him.

Everything seemed better with Kattrina around. Music sounded better, work seemed easier, and even Puff wouldn't run, or slither, away as often.

He knew the feeling all too well.

Evra nestled up to her and whispered.

"Love bites."

------------------

Kattrina was nervous about her new feelings for Evra. Her entire childhood had revolved around Mr. Waisbren's friends. There were very few boys who would talk to her after they found out about her ability.

She hated how Mr. Waisbren would tell his friends and then they would want her to show them.

They would pick random rocks from the ground without considering the germs or anything.

The only rocks she would swallow without boiling them or scrubbing them were ones from a clean river.

But Evra wasn't grossed out by her talent. He didn't shudder (unless he was joking) or call her gross.

Sometimes, he would stick out his long tongue just to be funny.

Although it wasn't entirely hard for him to be funny.

Or cute.

She couldn't believe how every outfit he wore was perfect for him. Blacks, greens, reds, they looked far more vibrant against his green scales.

Kattrina reopened her eyes and saw Evra was sleeping next to her.

She giggled when she noticed how his eyes were glazed over since he didn't have eyelids.

"Hey," she said gently touching his arm.

His eyes darted to the side before they locked with hers.

"You fell asleep and it made me tired."

"I was resting my eyes like you were."

They smiled while the trailer jerked to the left.

Kattrina rolled on top of Evra.

"Bumpy ride."

-------------------

The winter camp was larger than Kattrina had expected. It was the size of a college football field with a large platform in the very center with tents, trailers, and two bathroom buildings surrounding it.

On the outside of the gated area was a large field which was already brown from frost.

Evra was surprised how excited Kattrina looked when she stepped out of the trailer. Maybe it was because he was used to the place.

"This place is amazing!" she said looking around.

Some of the Cirque laughed at Kattrina's reaction.

Mr. Tall stepped out of his trailer.

"We'll start assigning the tents once everyone is out!"

Kattrina looked over to Evra.

"Assigning?"

"More like bartering. We can vote on which tents and trailers we want. Some prefer the tall ceilings, others like the bigger beds, and some want the private bathrooms in a few."

"Wow."

"We have some time before they are 'auctioned' off. I'll show you them."

* * *

Kattrina knew what she wanted the moment she saw it. It was five down from Evra's favorite tent, #14.

His tent was very tall but didn't have much space. It also had great heating, a full size bed, and enough space and outlets for his instruments.

Her tent, #9 was very small with only a queen bed with a large drawer underneath for clothes, a desk with a chair, and a large mirror.

No one really wanted the tent because it didn't have the best heating and its size was very small.

It reminded her of her room when she was with Mr. Waisbren. Big enough for a person to be comfortable without feeling isolated.

"There are better tents and trailers."

"But I like that one! Plus, its close to yours."

He blushed and looked away.

His cheeks may not flush when he was embarrassed but his cheek muscles quivered.

Mr. Tall was standing at the platform with a series of keys.

"Anyone have any forward bids?"

"I want 14!" Evra shouted.

"Any other takers?"

Everyone was silent.

"Anyone else have a number?"

"N-Number nine?" Kattrina shouted nervously.

Pretty much everyone had the tents they wanted selected but a few numbers and a few biders. They would wager up chores to do.

"How come he won by offering to clean the Wolfman's cage every day?" Kattrina whispered to Evra.

"Because its worse when we're not on the road. Dude must've really wanted that trailer."

---------------

Kattrina smiled as she put her clothes in the underneath compartment of her bed.

"You sure this isn't too small?" Evra said looking around.

"I love it! Its nice and cozy!"

"But the heating is pretty crappy."

"I prefer sleeping with a lot of blankets anyway."

She went over and stroked Puff.

"Just like you, right girl?"

The snake stuck out its tongue and wrapped around her waist.

"We're going to have dinner soon. Poor Gertha."

"I can't believe she volunteered to do dish duty every day for this month."

"Her tent had the biggest dressers."

"How will the chores be given out?"

"Some people are stuck with the chores they put up until the time is over. Mr. Tall will evaluate what everyone's good at and pass them out. Since we're younger, we'll do menial chores that the others won't want to do..."

Kattrina smiled.

"At least we won't have to worry about taking care of Rhamus' backhair."

They laughed before they went over to his tent.

"I'll set up my equipment. You mind throwing my suitcases on my bed?"

Kattrina, Puff nestled underneath her coat, carried the three suitcases over.

"Want to get down, Puff?"

Puff crawled out her sleeve and into the pillow that was attatched to the biggest suitcase.

She could have sworn she heard the rustling of paper.

"Dinner time!" someone shouted over a loudspeaker.

Kattrina went over and grabbed Evra's arm.

"Come on! I'm starving!"


	6. So Not

Evra smiled excitedly when he realized he had his own private bathroom added to his tent.

"I can't believe it! I thought Jeremy was kidding!"

"What?" Kattrina said sitting on his bed.

"The Cirque used to complain that I would leave scales in the drain. They must've had someone from town install it!"

The two went outside and saw Mr. Tall speaking to a few local villagers. There were four men and a man around their age.

"Thank you for taking care of everything."

"Just be careful. The snakes around here are getting jumpy. Caught one in our truck just last week."

The youngest boy noticed Evra and Kattrina.

"Hi. I'm Aldric."

Kattrina smiled at him.

He had red hair, a small amount of freckles, and almost six foot.

"I'm Kattrina. Nice to meet you."

Evra glared at Aldric's feet.

"I'm Evra."

While Kattrina and Aldric started talking, Evra ignored the conversation and focused on Aldric.

Why the hell was this normal kid here? He wanted to check out the 'weirdos?'

And why the hell was Kattrina being so nice to him?

He wasn't jealous.

He just wanted to grab Puff, have her eat him, and escort Kattrina over to his tent where she could be all his.

But he wasn't jealous.

Although if the Wolfman 'accidently' got loose when Aldric was around, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

But he still wasn't jealous.

Aldric smiled at Evra before turning back to Kattrina.

"We're leaving. So I'll show you around soon, okay?"

"Thanks, Aldric. Good luck tonight."

When Aldric was gone, Kattrina smiled at Evra.

"He was nice."

"Whatever," he muttered.

"Hey, you want to go see what Gertha did to her trailer?"

They were walking over as Truska walked their way.

"How's it going, Truska?"

The woman glared at Kattrina and purposefully bumped her arm while walking passed.

* * *

The next day, Evra and Kattrina were doing their chores together.

"Gross, gross, gross," Kattrina said throwing another pile of dead fur out of the bathtub.

Evra laughed.

"Why didn't someone else offer to clean up after the Wolfman's bath?"

"Cleaning him takes two people but no one likes cleaning up the mess afterwards."

Kattrina looked up and saw Truska glaring at her.

Evra saw Kattrina staring at something.

"What's the matter?"

"Truska keeps..."

"What?"

"Giving me the evil eye."

He turned around and saw Truska leaving.

"Don't worry about it."

"Truska really doesn't speak to me all that much. Does she hate me or something?"

Evra tried not to laugh when he remembered Truska's first reaction to Kattrina.

She said she was too pretty.

"Truska doesn't talk to people all that much. She doesn't speak English very well."

Kattrina still looked hurt.

"I'll talk to her later. How about that?"

* * *

Evra waited until after dinner to talk to Truska. She had dish duty and was scrubbing out a large pot.

"Kattrina thinks you dislike her."

"I do."

"Why?"

"Too pretty."

"You keep saying that. How do you dislike her for that?"

"I am supossed to be most beautiful woman in show. Man would smile and wink, even as I grew my beard. She? Bah! Flashes her eyelashes and gets roses."

Evra was surprised.

"You envy her?"

Truska stopped working.

"Not envy. I feel as if she will become lazy. Men will bend over backwards for her and she will let everything go."

"Kattrina isn't like that."

"How would you know? You are the same."

Evra blushed.

"You try and work hard to make her happy. You love her?"

"L-Love is a strong word."

"So you are saying yes?"

He was thankful no one else was able to understand Truska's language but him.

"Truska, just say you're sorry for being mean to her."

She smiled.

"Evra in love?"

"Don't say anything about that."

* * *

"I sorry."

Kattrina was sure she had something lodged in her ears. Truska just marched over to her tent to yell at her for something. No way was she actually saying she was sorry.

"You're sorry?"

"I should not have been anger with you. I not used to other pretty girls here."

Kattrina smiled.

"So you're...you..."

"I already said it! Am I speaking wrong?"

Kattrina shook her head.

"Th-thank you."

Truska bowed and left her tent.

Kattrina waited a few minutes before heading over to Evra's tent.

He was sitting on his bed, strumming his guitar.

"I take it you talked to her?" she said leaning against the wall.

"What did she say?" he said a bit too nervously.

"She said she was sorry she was mean to me. Apparently it was because I was pretty."

Evra looked at her.

_Of course you are. _

"Why would she think that?"

She threw a nearby drumstick at him.

"You're terrible!"

"Hey! Easy with the equipment!"

Kattrina laughed and went over to Puff's blanket pile.

"Can you believe how mean he is, Puff? Next he'll make fun of..."

He rolled his eyes and waited for her response.

She made a fake, snooty laugh.

"I'm perfect! There's nothing to make fun of me for!"

"Oh yeah. The queen of class."

"Not everyone can be the incredible and uberly masculine as the great Evra Von."

She smiled and walked suggestively over to him.

"Strong, talented, a knack for music, good with animals..."

He gulped as her hand gently ran through his hair.

"Wonderful hair...if only we could fix that one little thing..."

Evra dumbly stared at her as her hand went down from his hair, to the corner of his eyes, to his mouth.

"That one...flaw...you're gullible!"

She flicked his nose and burst out laughing.

His face turned dark green before he stood up.

"You little-!"

"Aw, Evra was expecting something else?"

She pressed her body to his.

"What did you want?"

He stuttered nervously.

Kattrina sighed and sat on his bed.

"You're too serious at times and then you're too relaxed. Ever hear of middle ground?"

She swung her legs back and forth.

"You should show me around outside the camp."

"Now hold on, don't start making-"

"Puff, you want to go for a walk?"

The snake poked out of its blanket and crawled over to Kattrina.

"I take that as a yes."

Evra groaned.

"You're giving me a migraine."

"Can snakes get migraines?"

-----------------

Author's Note:

HA HA HA! I just had to show Kattrina's more playful side.

Sorry this part was a bit short but it will get juicy soon!

REVIEW!!! It takes a few seconds!

In case I don't post anything else up beforehand...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

AND

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!


	7. Secret Santa

Author's Note:

Lately, some people have complained how I mingled parts of the book with the movie. I'm sorry for my bluntness but if you don't like it, read a different story. I like it, others like it, and the last thing I need is someone commenting how they think I'm 'unimaginative' by combing the two.

Sorry about my rant but it needed to be said. Enjoy this part and sorry for such a long delay.

------------------

The next day, Kattrina and Evra were helping Twobellies by going into town.

"Go into town and get us some groceries."

Kattrina wasn't sure if the old pickup they were in would hold up the trip. The road, if you could consider it a road, was filled with rocks and the truck shook with every inch.

Evra drove the truck as if it was a freshly paved road.

"You okay?"

"I'd feel better if there were seatbelts," she said moving closer to him.

Evra casually stretched his arm out and put it around her.

"We'll be in town in a little while."

He glanced at her outfit and wondered how many guys would be jealous of him.

She was wearing a slimming black dress pants along with red turtleneck and a black vest. It almost went along with his outfit; black jeans and a dark green shirt on top of a long-sleeved black one.

Kattrina smiled at Evra.

"Does the town decorate for the holidays? I mean Christmas isn't for a few more weeks but most places start right after Halloween."

He laughed.

"They start in the middle of November."

Kattrina gasped.

"What about the Cirque?! Do we do Christmas? What about Kwanzaa? Hanukkah?"

"Just just have a big party on Christmas Eve and mush all of them together. We have a secret Santa where everyone puts their names in Loafhead's hat and pick a name."

Loafhead was a Cirque member with a five foot tall forehead.

"Cool!"

"We even put the Wolfman's and whoever gets that buys him stuff like fresh meat from the town butcher."

"That's really nice."

Evra wouldn't admit it to anyone but having Kattrina on his arm made the trip to town far better.

* * *

At first, Kattrina was nervous stepping out of the truck. After being in so many different towns, she never got over her fear of new and strange places.

Some people recognized Evra and said hello as they passed by.

"Relax," Evra said putting his hand on her arm. "They aren't going to throw anymore rocks at you."

It may have sounded like a joke but a few teens did it after a show. It left a big gash on Kattrina's forehead that didn't heal for a good two weeks.

Kattrina was embarrassed when Evra suddenly grabbed her hand and started pulling her along.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"Making sure we don't get separated."

Evra almost blushed when he saw Kattrina's bright red face.

"P-People are staring."

"Really? I don't see anyone."

Kattrina moved a bit closer to him and pretended to play it cool.

"Okay, Mister Macho. I'll play it your way for a little while."

He smiled.

----------------

Kattrina liked the big selection in the massive store but really enjoyed being alone with Evra without the Cirque around.

"Hey, Evra. Think Puff would like it if we got her some treats?"

"Not really a good idea. She usually feeds on the rats and other rodents that wander into camp. If we bring her stuff, she won't eat the intruders and we'll get more unwelcomed guests."

His heart clenched when he saw her sad expression.

"Thanks for thinking about her though. I really liked it."

She smiled up at him. Her hand was still holding his and her thumb gently brushed his scales.

------------------

The Cirque heard the truck coming and went to the entrance. Evra was holding up a bag to Kattrina's face and she held her head out of the window.

"Get that away from me!"

"What? They're just-"

"Tuna! Its disgusting!!"

The moment the truck stopped, Kattrina jumped out and hid behind Mr. Tall.

"Boss! He's trying to poison me!"

Evra laughed.

"Evra, get that away from her."

Mr. Tall escorted Evra to the side and lectured him.

Kattrina blushed when she was suddenly picked up by two strong arms.

"Aldric! What are you doing here?"

"It worked!"

She smiled.

"Are you serious?! That's fantastic!"

The redhead smiled and fixed his green sweater.

"My folks wanted to thank you for your help by having you join us for the...shopping spree."

"Shopping spree?"

"We have a bunch of people spend the night over our house and go at the break of dawn shopping. Its like the Olympics of holiday shopping."

He laughed.

"We need all the help we can get when the clearance sale starts."

"Sounds like fun! When?"

"On Friday so you could either come early or join us for the movie marathon on Thursday night. Is that okay? You'll have a few days to prep."

Evra started walking back over to Kattrina and immediately noticed the 'hunky redhead' as Corma called him.

His eyes glared as he stormed over.

"Evra! You better not have that tuna!"

Aldric looked over to Kattrina.

"How can you hate tuna? Its the best thing since sliced bread!"

Evra pretended to laugh.

"I wouldn't say that. So what's going on?"

"I'm taking Kattrina shopping on Friday."

Kattrina looked back over to the truck.

"Hey! Put that down!"

Aldric went over to the truck with Kattrina while Evra stood frozen.

Maybe he was a little bit jealous.

-------------------

Kattrina was so excited on Thursday to go shopping she nearly forgot that it was the day they were picking the names for the Secret Santa.

She really wanted to get Evra's name because she saw a pair of green gloves that matches his scales.

Mr. Tall was holding up the large hat as the twins passed out slips of paper.

"Everyone, write your name and place it single file into the hat. I'll pick people one at a time to pick a new name. Show me the name just to make sure someone didn't put their name twice."

For some reason, several people looked over to a woman with a large nose.

"If you select your own name, I'll put it back, shake it, and you'll pick again. Everyone understand?"

"Just get on with it!"

"Easy, Kevin."

Kattrina folded her paper and bent the edges for good luck before throwing it in.

People started picking out the names and Kattrina fumbled to reach the bottom of the hat.

_Jekkus Flang?_

Kattrina knew he was a knife thrower but didn't know much about him.

_Maybe I'll ask Corma...but she's a gossip. Gertha or Mr. Tall maybe._

Evra was a bit thankful he didn't get Kattrina's name. He would've been so embarrassed to give her a present in front of everyone.

It would be better to give it to her in private, away from Corma's eyes.

"Kattrina," Hans Hands said walking over to her. "You still need a ride tomorrow?"

"If its okay with you."

"No biggie. I'm playing poker with the guys all night so I'll be up. You play?"

She shook her head.

"Never played it before."

"Good! They're all crooks."

"You better not be talking about us!" a man from a group shouted.

"Shut up, you morons! Just have my money ready!"

"Hey, that's what your mom said last night!"

Kattrina laughed as Hans ran over on his hands.

Evra walked over to her.

"Want to come over to my tent?"

"Definitely."

When they entered the tent, Puff slithered over to Kattrina.

"Hi, Puff-Puff."

Evra glared.

"Puff-Puff? She's a terrifying python."

"And she's my little Puff-Puff."

She smiled cutely and moved closer to Evra.

"If you don't like that, I guess you won't want to hear my nickname for you."

"What?" he said as his heart pounded.

She leaned up and whispered in his ear.

"Not telling you."

Kattrina moved back but Evra put his arm around her waist.

His lips quivered before he gently pressed them against hers.

Her hands shyly went to his shoulders as her eyes closed.

His scaled lips felt oddly warm against her soft pink ones.

He moved her backwards with him onto an old couch while he fervently kissed her.

Evra tripped and Kattrina fell on top of him onto the couch.

She leaned up and stared into his eyes.

"E...Evra..."

Blood flooded to his cheeks and he wished he could shut his eyes.

"Sorry, Kattrina. I-"

He cleared his throat.

"D-Didn't mean to trip."

Kattrina smiled with a blush.

"Um, do you, um, want to-"

She shut her eyes tightly.

"Hang out?"

Evra stuttered.

"S-Sure."

Kattrina got up and walked out of the tent but not before looking back and smiling.

-------------------

Author's Note again:

I'm looking for someone who could write Evra's song for Kattrina. I'll give you credit and there's no real requirements. Length or beat doesn't matter but don't use curses if you don't have to. LOL!

No deadline and all entries would be great!


	8. My Kingdom For Eyelids

Author's Note:

Still looking for people to help with the Evra song!

----------------

Kattrina was grinning like an idiot as she rushed to her tent. She slammed the door and fell onto the bed.

"Hang out? What kind of lame line is that?!"

--------------

Evra's heart raced as he put his hat over his face.

"Holy shit."

Puff crawled over and rested next to him.

He peeked his eye out and looked at Puff.

"Did I do okay? I think I didn't say anything stupid."

Evra jumped up and started pacing.

"Its not like I confessed undying love or anything. It was a kiss...a really, really good kiss."

He had an embarrassed smile on his face.

"A really, really, _really_, good kiss."

His hand went to his mouth as he rushed over to the mirror.

"I wasn't shedding, was I?!"

Puff stared as he checked his scales in the mirror.

"Did she think my lips were chapped?"

He turned to Puff.

"Don't give me that look. So I don't exactly have the best practice with kissing. Not everyone can pass for normal like Hans and Alexander!"

He started fixing his hair.

"When she means 'hang out,' what does that mean? A walk? Trip to the city?"

He didn't hear the footsteps approaching him.

"Who said that?"

Evra whipped around and saw Hans, Alexander, and a few other men.

"Wh-What?! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!"

"We heard our names and thought you wanted us."

"That can't be Evra!"

A tall, strong man went over to Evra and hugged him.

"Cormac? What are you doing here?"

"Corma said she missed me."

Cormac and Corma were twins who both could regrow their limbs.

"So what's new?"

Hans chuckled.

"Sounds like something happened between him and Kattrina."

"Who is Kattrina?"

-----------

"Guys, ease up," Evra said as they dragged him to Kattrina's tent.

"I want to see this pretty girl!"

Cormac started flexing his large muscles.

"If she likes skinny snake boy, wait till she gets a load of this!"

"Katty!" Domonic said knocking on the door. "You in there?"

The door was open and he peeked in.

"She must've gone to the loo."

Evra's eyes opened wider.

"Leave her alone!"

The men snuck over to the woman's bathroom.

"I hear a shower."

"I hear singing."

The men went around the back where steam was pouring out of a window.

"Like a song of love that clings to me,  
How the thought of you does things to me,"

"Is that Kattrina?" Hans asked as she kept singing.

"Unforgettable in every way  
And forever more, that's how you'll stay  
That's why, darling, it's incredible  
That someone so unforgettable  
Thinks that I am unforgettable too."

She may not have been the absolute best singer, having a hard time keeping high notes, but she was decent.

"Unforgettable in every way  
And forever more, that's how you'll stay."

The shower shut off and Kattrina hummed the rest of the lyrics.

Cormac hit Evra's arm and cursed in some foreign tongue.

"Such a pretty voice!"

If Evra's face could turn red, he'd be a tomato.

"Can we just go now?"

"Yes, but you're coming to the game!"

-------------

The room was already filled with cigar smoke as Evra struggled to find fresh air. Having no eyelids was rough with the clouded air.

"Now, Evvy boy," Hans said quickly passing out cards. "Tell us about Kattrina."

He coughed.

"Can I just go?"

Cormac grinned over to Evra.

"I haven't seen you in so long. If this Kattrina has changed you, I am interested."

Evra glared.

Cormac held his hands up in defense.

"Not in her!"

Jekkus smirked.

"Evra gets so jealous."

"I do not!"

"Do we have to bring up Aldric?"

Evra dropped his cards.

That redhead was taking Kattrina out in only a few hours.

_What does that mean? She doesn't like me? But she kissed me. But I sort of brought it on._

"Evra? Evra?"

One of the held their cigar underneath his nose and Evra started hacking.

Evra had an idea in his head.

It was stupid but at least he could see what secret Aldric and Kattrina were hiding.

------------------

"Evra, you sure you-"

The snake boy crawled into the back of the pickup truck and covered himself with a sheet.

"Just get going!"

Hans sighed and headed over to Kattrina's tent.

The door was open so he peeked in.

"Kattrina?"

She was standing in front of the mirror fixing her hair.

"You all set?"

A yawn escaped her throat before she nodded.

Hans laughed as she hobbled to the truck.

"Tired?"

"I couldn't sleep well."

"Anything on your mind?"

She blushed.

"Just confused on a few things."

"Getting used to the camp can be hard."

Kattrina couldn't disagree with that. She was used to sleeping in the moving trailers and a still bed usually meant a show or a problem.

Hans smiled.

"At least Evra is helping you out, right?"

Something hit the back window.

"What was that?" Kattrina said turning around.

"Look!" Hans said pointing ahead.

Kattrina looked to where he was pointing but didn't see anything.

In the rear view mirror, Evra glared at Hans.

--------------

The town couldn't have come up any faster. Evra was half frozen in the back.

Kattrina met up with Aldric in front of the bank.

Hans opened the truck window as Evra jumped out. Most of his skin was covered, hat, gloves, and a scarf pulled up high.

"Be careful, Evra."

"I know what I'm doing," he said as Kattrina hugged Aldric.

----------

"So what's first?"

"First, we separate into teams."

Aldric's family was prepared for war, camoflague gear, utility belts, and the women had each colored their hair strange colors.

A girl with neon green hair went over to her.

"You're on my team. We hit the clearance sales between 9:14 to 1:34. We get a fifteen minute break so use it wisely!"

Aldric chuckled before the girl burst into laughter. Kattrina stared at them in confusion.

"We're kidding!"

"Yeah. You only get a five minute break."

"What?!"

Aldric's mother came over and smacked the two on the head.

"Focus people! We open in ten!"

* * *

As long as Evra lived, he didn't want to go to Mega Clearance Day at Krazy Kathy's ever again.

People were shoving for the newest boots and he swore he heard someone whip a baby bottle at someone for a flat screen TV.

What was even worse was trying to keep up with Kattrina while trying to stay hidden.

She was a quick little minx and managed to trick at least five people into looking away long enough for her to grab something and rush to the register.

He moved in closer and listened to Aldric talking to Kattrina.

"I'm having a great time!"

"Who did you get presents for?"

She laughed.

"The Secret Santa for the camp gave me Jekkus. I got him a set of poker cards with knives all on them along with a trophy."

She held up the small trophy that said "World's Best Everything."

"What about everything else?"

"Mainly its all for me. I didn't spend much but I got a lot of cool stuff!"

Aldric held up a pair of green gloves with snakes coiling around them.

"These?"

She yanked them from his hands.

"Don't touch them! They're for Evra!"

Evra blushed.

Aldric laughed and quickly stood up.

"Xavier!"

Evra turned around and saw Aldric hugging someone. A guy his age.

Kattrina smiled.

"So...this is Xavier."

Aldric squeezed Xavier's ass.

"Don't get any ideas."

Evra got up and quickly went to an outdoor cafe.

The whole time Aldric was gay? He went through all of that for nothing?

It was a good thing he didn't do anything crazy.


	9. Oh la la

Author's Note:

I don't know if anyone has a problem with gay people but if you do, please don't write harsh comments. I didn't make any characters from the Cirque gay, I made my own OC gay. And I only did it to make a better plot.

ALSO! I need help! Should I stick with the books and have Evra with Merla(or whatever)? I want your opinions! Don't want to get anyone mad!

-----------------

Kattrina talked to Aldric and Xavier for a little over an hour before she decided she was all shopped out.

"I'm gonna head back to the camp."

"You sure?" Aldric asked as he shared the rest of his fries with his boyfriend.

"Totally. I got enough discount candy to gain ten pounds."

Xavier chuckled, his spiky blonde hair staying perfectly still.

"It was nice meeting you."

"Same here."

She walked out of the mall and saw it was snowing out.

Something about snow always made Kattrina happy.

She headed down to a large music store that had a dozen instruments on display in the window.

_It seems like the kind of place Evra would like._

"Come on, give me a little discount?"

Evra Von was standing at the counter with a few items on the counter; a new set of drumsticks, guitar string, and sheet music.

"Evra?"

A jolt ran through Evra's body as he whipped around.

"H-Hey, Kattrina."

She smiled.

"Doing some shopping?"

The man behind the counter smirked at Evra as the teenager started fidgetting.

"Yeah. I needed a few things."

Kattrina looked around as he paid.

"Cute," the man said giving him his change.

Evra cleared his throat and went over to Kattrina.

"What are you looking at?"

She pointed to a violin.

"Mr. Waisbren promised to buy me a new violin for Christmas. I'm trying to picture what it would look like."

"At least it isn't a harp."

Kattrina laughed.

"It wouldn't fit in my tent!"

He chuckled.

"You wanna walk back to camp?"

"You promise you won't get me lost?"

"Promise."

-------------------

"Evra..."

"I-I know where we are."

"Evra..."

His head scanned the snow-covered woods.

"I'm lost."

He didn't realize that all of the landmarks he used to get back to the camp would be covered with snow.

Kattrina shivered before she started climbing a tree.

"What are you doing, Monkey Girl?"

"Trying to see smoke or something!"

"We'll find it soon."

It was getting dark but Evra knew that the Cirque had to be close by.

Kattrina stood on a tall branch and started looking around.

"You're lucky I can see the lights!"

She started to climb down when her shirt got stuck on a branch.

"Evra! Help!"

"Sorry. I might get lost on my way over."

He laughed as he started to help her.

A loud rip pierced the air.

"Tell me you didn't just rip my shirt."

He stuck his finger through the hole and poked her stomach.

"No. You ripped your shirt."

She let out a loud groan and punched his hand.

"Jerk!"

"Relax."

"I'll relax once I get the Wolfman after you!"

"You're the one who got it caught on a branch!"

As they approached the gate, Evra decided the best way to cool off her hot temper...was a snowball to the face.

"Kattrina! Look!"

She turned around and was hit with something ice cold.

She growled and wiped the snow off her face.

"You-!!"

She dropped her bags and started whipping snowballs at him.

"You have crappy aim!"

"Stay still, Snake Boy!"

The snowball fight included a flurry of kicked up snow, knocking over tree branches, and snowballs the size of skulls being whipped around.

When Evra disappeared, Kattrina tried hiding behind a tree.

"Come on out, Evra Von!"

What she didn't hear over her taunts was Evra sneaking up behind her, a clump of snow in his hand.

He quickly grabbed the back of her sweater and stuck the snow down the back of her neck.

Kattrina let out a loud yelp and shook to get the snow out.

Evra was on the ground laughing.

She struggled not to laugh.

"I freaking hate you!"

Kattrina fell to her knees and panted.

"Truce?" Evra said catching his breath.

"Just until I can feel my hands again."

-----------------

Cormac and Corma were heading over to the food tent when Evra and Kattrina walked in the main gate laughing.

"You're joking. No way did you win."

"Snow down the shirt seems like a real final blow to me."

"Please. I dumped three tree branches full of snow on you. That's like two down-the-shirts!"

"Who made you the Queen of Snowball fights?"

"I did when you ripped my sweater. Which I expect to be compensated for."

Cormac tilted his head and locked eyes with Evra.

Evra quickly grabbed Kattina's hand.

"Meet Cormac."

"Who?"

Kattrina's mouth dropped open.

The man was as fit as a Greek God statue.

" 'allo. I am Cormac Limbs."

She shook his hand.

"Kattrina."

Cormac tried not to smirk as he pretended to speak little english.

"You and Evra doing the smoochy-smooch?" he asked in a fake Russian accent.

Kattrina turned bright red as Evra growled.

"Cut it out, Cormac!"

"No need to be embarrassed over pretty girlfriend. Although Cormac thinks she needs someone with more..."

Cormac started flexing his arms.

"Strength."

He knelt down and showed his shoulder muscles.

"Muscles."

He looked at her body and winked.

"Stamina."

Kattrina was bright red before Corma and Evra smacked him in the head.

"You pervert!"

Cormac laughed and got back up.

"All right, all right," he said in his normal english accent. "Just playing around."

Kattrina laughed nervously.

"Evra, we should really check on Puff."

Corma glared at her brother as the teens left.

"How did I get stuck with a moron for a brother?"

-----------------

Puff was finishing off a rat as Evra and Kattrina entered the tent.

"I'm using your shower."

Blood rushed to Evra's face.

"What? Why?"

"You put snow down my shirt so I'm cold."

The shower was tucked away behind a corner made out of frosted glass walls.

"Can I use one of your shirts for when I get out?" she called as he sat on his bed.

"Sure."

He went to his dresser and started looking for something that wouldn't be huge on her.

The shirt he picked out was black with a red snake on the chest.

The shower started as Evra walked over.

He set the shirt down a few inches from the shower but couldn't help sneaking a quick glance.

Kattrina was soaking her hair and didn't noticed him.

The glass hid most of the details.

He scanned her quickly before rushing back over to his bed.

"I put the shirt by the door," he said trying to keep his voice normal.

"Thanks!"

Kattrina was a bit nervous using a guy's shower but she was so cold she didn't care.

When she finished with the shower, she used Evra's towel before putting her clothes back on.

Evra wouldn't mind if he never wore that shirt again if it meant she would wear it.

It was a little big on her but the length only went down close to her knee.

In the back of his mind, he thought about those chick flicks where football players would give their jackets to girlfriends.

"Thanks, Evra. I'm gonna go back to my tent. I'm pretty beat."

He chuckled.

"You just don't want to finish our fight," he said as she picked up her stuff.

"That'll be another time. Right now, this warrior needs her rest."

* * *

Author's Note:

STILL NEED THE EVRA SONG!


	10. Playing

Evra strummed his guitar as Puff laid next to him. The only souce of light in the room was a small lamp.

He couldn't shake the picture of Kattrina wearing his shirt and felt another crappy love song coming into his head.

A dozen crumbled up music sheets were already on the ground.

His foot tapped on the foot of his bed.

"Can't shake this picture from my head," he muttered as he wrote down the words. "So many words still left unsaid."

In his head, it didn't sound bad but if he actually tried to play it in front of an audience?

Disaster.

"I tell myself 'get out' but one word from you and I'm back in."

He scratched out the last line and groaned.

------------------

Kattrina snuggled into her 'old lady pillow' as Evra called it. She wrapped Evra's present because she suspected he would snoop around her room.

He would never think to look inside the stuffing of a pillow. Personally, she thought it was a clever idea.

She huffed when she couldn't fall asleep.

Underneath her bed was an old violin she had for five years. Kattrina pulled it out and started bundling up in coats, snow pants, and hats. She never wore gloves when she played the violin outside, no matter how cold.

The members would complain if she made noise this late so she snuck over to Evra's tent.

"Evra?"

He was on his bed wearing only sweatpants, a pen hanging from his mouth, and his guitar in his arms.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Can't sleep and I wanted to practice. I wanted to see if I could borrow your flashlight."

He fished in his drawer and pulled one out.

"Want some company?"

She blushed.

"You sure?"

He started throwing on some clothes.

"Mr. Tall is going to kill me anyway for sneaking into town. Might as well go practice."

"Just don't get me lost again, genius."

There was a hill a distance away from the camp covered in large rocks.

Evra sat on one as Kattrina quickly tuned her violin.

"Care to do a duet?" Evra said smiling.

She smiled back.

"Just try to keep up."

-----------------

Evra's fingers were like lightning on his guitar while Kattrina's bow strummed to the same melody.

She was standing up on the rocks and rocking gently.

"Not bad," Evra said looking up at her.

A blush crossed her face before she stopped playing.

"What's wrong?"

She put an arm down towards him.

"Help me down. I can't feel my legs."

He happily took her hand and eased her down. Kattrina looked at their locked hands before glancing into his eyes. Evra saw her face turn bright red as she pulled her hand back.

A lump formed in his throat as he tried to form the words.

"Are we gonna talk about what happened?"

"Th-There's something to talk about?"

She scooted away from him.

Evra touched her shoulder.

"The kiss."

Kattrina looked him in the eyes.

"Wh-What about it?"

Evra felt his face heat up.

"Was it...just a one time thing?"

He thought about her words. "Hang out." The men of the Cirque always warned him about words like "we need to talk."

Kattrina bit her lower lip.

"Evra...I don't want us to move fast. You're one of the best friends I ever had."

"Friend..." he said disheartenly.

She stood up and covered her face.

"But I can't stand being away from you! All the time, I just want to have you notice me! Like I'm some whiny little brat or something."

Evra set down his guitar and stood up next to her.

"And I act like a snotty boy. I try to wear anything that looks cool hoping you'll notice. I strum my guitar until my fingers are about to fall off because I know you like it."

He took her hand in his and stared into her eyes.

"Why don't we..."

"Take it slow?"

Evra looked away.

"I-If you want to. I mean I w-was, um, I-I thought."

Kattrina giggled as he cleared his throat half a dozen times.

"You all right?"

She hesitantly took a step closer to him.

"Do you want to go back?"

He chuckled nervously.

"Let's go."

Kattrina laughed as he fumbled to get down from the hill.

"Looks like someone's a little jittery."

Evra walked alongside Kattrina.

"A-A little. Don't really know how to go slow with a girl."

She gave him a confused look. He put his arms out in defense.

"I-I mean that I don't have experience with girls! I didn't want it to sound like that!"

Kattrina laughed and took his hand in hers.

"Relax. What I mean is that we won't just suddenly jump into stuff like pet names or calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend. Kind of like friends but a little more."

"Friends with benefits?"

She trembled in disgust.

"No. Where I come from, thats what we called the school tramps. I'm sorry but now that term is just dirty to me."

He flushed.

"Really? Um, I didn't know. I-"

He cleared his throat again before covering his face with his other hand.

"Damn it all!"

"What?"

"My mind's going a mile a minute. I-I'm just not used to this," he said looking down at their hands.

Kattrina bit her lower lip to try and hide her smile.

"Really? Then how about this?"

She leaned up and kissed him as her arm circled around his neck.

When she pulled back, he hesitantly smiled. Her fingers traced the back of his neck.

"N-Not used to that."

* * *

When they made it back to the Cirque, Evra led Kattrina over to her tent.

"I-I had a great time."

"Me too," she said smiling.

Evra scratched the back of his head as he debated to give her another kiss.

"See you in the morning."

He quickly turned to leave with a disappointed look on his face.

Kattrina went over to him.

"You forgot something."

She kissed him on the cheek and winked.

"Good night."

Evra stood frozen as she entered her tent without glancing back. Kattrina, on the other hand, entered her tent and immediately congradulated herself.

"I was so awesome!"

Evra walked back to his tent, changed into his nightwear, and laid in his bed. He stared at the ceiling with a smile on his face.

Puff crawled over to him and stared curiously at him.

"Hey, Puff. Bite me so I know I'm not dreaming."

* * *

**Still need the Evra song.**


	11. Footsie

Author's Note:

In the last chapter, I WAS NOT REFERING TO SEX. Some people didn't understand what I was saying so I went and changed it. I would never rush into sex in one of my stories.

-------------------

Evra felt his heart pound as he walked to the breakfast table. Corma was talking to Kattrina with a smile on her face.

"G-good morning," he said sitting across from Kattrina.

"Good morning. You'll never believe what-"

Corma smacked her arm.

"Don't tell!"

Kattrina laughed.

"Sorry, Evra. Want me to grab you a plate?"

He smiled.

"Thanks."

Once Kattrina was up, Corma looked over to him.

"What were you up to last night? I saw you all bundled up with your guitar."

Evra twitched and looked away.

"Just out to practice."

"Outside the camp?"

"It was late. I didn't want to wake anyone up."

She smirked.

"Whatever. I bet you were practicing for serenading Kattrina."

Corma nearly fell overlaughing as Evra's eyes widened and he created this terrified expression.

"Kidding! My God, you're jittery today."

He glared at her.

"Wh-what were you doing up at that time anyway?!"

"I was getting ready for bed."

"But I saw you go in there an hour before!"

She slammed her hand on the table.

"Don't you realize how difficult it is to make myself this goregous?! Men never appreciate what we women have to go through!!"

Kattrina giggled as she returned to the table.

"What are you guys talking about??"

She set down a plate of food in front of Evra before returning to her seat by Corma.

Cormac came over and set next to Evra.

"What's the plan for everyone today?"

"Chores," Kattrina and Evra groaned.

Cormac noticed the plate of food.

"How did you get the extra piece of french toast? Gertha never gives extra."

Kattrina blushed. Evra loved french toast and had to give the puppy eyes to get it.

"Kattrina got his plate for him."

"That so?" Cormac said with a smirk identical to Corma's.

"So, Cormac, how long have you been with the Cirque?" Kattrina asked to change the subject.

Evra didn't know what was gently rubbing his leg at first. He was about to look down before he caught Kattrina's smile. Nervously, he rubbed his foot against hers.

As they talked with the twins, Kattrina and Evra gave each other shy glances.

Kattrina pulled her foot back and smiled.

"I should get started on my chores."

"M-Me too."

The teens quickly left while Corma and Cormac snickered.

"Evra, I didn't know you liked playing footsie so much."

He stopped dead in his tracks.

"What are you talking about? You started it."

"No I-"

The two turned but Corma and Cormac were gone.

"Those jerks!"

* * *

Evra and Kattrina had to work separate chores, including garbage duty, walking the Wolfman, and cleaning Twobellies metal pieces he used in shows.

Kattrina was walking back to her tent when Mr. Tall stopped her.

"Kattrina, when you have the time, can you tell Evra I put a present for him in his room?"

"A present?"

"Yes. He'll love it."

She smiled and snuck over to his tent.

"Wonder what it is."

On the floor was a black snake, almost two feet long, with a flat head and large eyes.

Puff was circling around it, hissing.

"Puff! Leave it alone!"

She grabbed the black snake and pulled it away from the angry python.

Instead of noticing the new amps in the corner, Kattrina thought the snake was the present Mr. Tall was talking about.

The snake hissed and sunk its fangs into Kattrina's arm.

She screamed in pain and tried to pull it off.

"Get off!"

Puff picked up her head and grabbed onto the snake's tail.

The black snake let go and started fighting Puff.

Kattrina looked around for something to put the snake in.

She rushed over, ripped Evra's pillow out of the case, and went over to the fighting pair. Her arm shot out to grab the snake. It bit her again on her arm but she managed to put it into the case and make it release.

The snake twisted and coiled in the sheet as Kattrina rushed out of the tent.

"Mr. Tall!"

The large man turned around, startled at her angry expression.

"What on earth made you think this was a good present?!"

He saw the pillow case moving.

"That isn't what I placed in there. I put in new music stereo whatevers. The man at the store said Evra had his eye on them."

"Well what's this then?"

He took the pillow case and peeked inside.

"Ah. An adder. Not very much around here."

"Maybe it snuck in with those amps then?" she assumed based on his 'stereo' comment.

"Possibly. I'll dispose of this."

He noticed blood on her sleeve.

"Did it bite you?"

She flushed.

"Y-Yeah. What should I do?"

"See Gertha. The venom isn't dangerous but it may make you feel nauseous."

-------------------

Gertha patted Kattrina's back as she dry-heaved into a bucket.

"Let it out."

"I'm starting to wish Puff killed that thi-"

She coughed before she could finish.

Gertha tried not to smile.

"But from what I've seen, you don't have a problem with snakes...like a certain...Snake Boy?"

Kattrina turned even redder.

"What do...you mean?"

Gertha laughed.

"Its so obvious he's got a thing for you. I mean I have a good woman's tuition and I get that serious vibe, you know? I tried asking someone else but they didn't see it. But I know!"

Gertha moved closer to Kattrina.

"Evra always has the look!"

Kattrina scooted away.

"What look?"

"Duh! The look where he panics when you enter a room!"

Gertha laughed.

"Remember your first show?"

------------------Flashback------------------

Evra practiced in his trailer outside a small town in Paris. He wasn't wearing a shirt and black shorts, in order to show more of his scales.

"I hate French," he mumbled reading his translated lines.

"Evra, you almost set?" someone said knocking on his door.

"Be right there, Gertha."

Mr. Tall spoke fluent languages and would introduce everyone in the beginning of the show.

Evra stepped out of the trailer and looked around for Kattrina. It was going to be her first show and she was very nervous for the entire week.

"Anyone see Kattrina?"

"She's getting dolled up."

He walked over to the female trailers.

"Get ready, people!" Corma yelled as women started following her.

"Evra!"

The Snake Boy nearly passed out as Kattrina hugged him. She was wearing a red and black dress that made her look like a Can-Can dancer.

"What do you think?"

Evra stood frozen as Gertha walked over.

"What's with him?"

"Is he having a panic attack or something?"

-----------------End Flashback---------------------

Kattrina laughed with a small blush on her face.

"Evra's really nice."

"And cute. You two work nicely together. I'm sure you'd have no problem winning him over."

"What if he asked me first?"

"The boy can barely keep that massive tongue from rolling out of his mouth around you. You'll have a better shot at trying it first."

------------

Author's Note:

Still need the Evra song.


	12. Setting Up

Evra was finishing up washing the cars when Kattrina snuck over.

"Hi, Evra. You busy?"

He smiled as he wiped off his hands.

"Course not. Just finishing up."

Kattrina scanned around before moving closer to Evra. He was confused until she lightly pressed her lips to his. When he put his arms around her, she moaned.

"What was that?" he asked. "Afraid to kiss the Snake Boy in public?"

She shook her head embarrassed.

"I know we said we'll go slow but I really just wanted to kiss you again."

Evra's face contorted in nervousness.

"R-Really?"

She laughed.

"It sounds stupid but its the truth. I really just wanted to kiss you...just to make sure you didn't change your mind since last night."

He saw something tired in her eyes.

"Everything all right?"

Kattrina showed him her arm.

"Adder snake in your tent. Ironic, huh?"

Evra carefully ran his fingers over her arm.

"Why were you in my tent?"

"Mr. Tall said he left an early Christmas present for you in there and I thought I would check it out. Puff was fighting the snake and I tried to stop it."

She quickly looked up at him.

"Don't worry! Puff's okay!"

He laughed.

"Puff isn't one to back down from a fight."

"Anyway, Gertha treated me. We talked about how she noticed you always staring at me."

Evra felt a blush rise to his cheeks.

"I-I do not!"

"Aw. When she told me, we agreed it was sweet."

Evra thought for a moment.

"Okay. So I...occassionaly look over to you."

Kattrina smiled.

"I was wondering if it would be okay for me to stop over to your tent later."

"If there's more kissing involved, definitely."

----------------

Evra spent the rest of the day smiling like a kid in a candy store. None of the Crique really saw anything between him and Kattrina, which meant that no one would tell any embarrassing stories from when he was little.

Around dinner, Kattrina was on kitchen duty but was strictly on plate detail and clean up. She wasn't allowed to cook after Mr. Waisbren's warnings.

When it came to plate detail, Kattrina had to make sure everyone got their fair share and no one took more than their worth. That day, everyone would try to kiss up to the detailer to get an extra slice of turkey or another scoop of ice cream for dessert.

"Kattrina, you look so cute today."

"Did you do something new with your hair?"

"Nice necklace!"

Kattrina rolled her eyes as she put the exact same amount on everyone's plate.

"Hi, Kattrina," Twobellies said smiling. "How's my favorite apprentice?"

"Good. Two plates, as usual."

"Can we add a few extra pieces of-"

"Nope."

"But I'm famished!"

He held his two stomachs.

"I'm wasting away!"

Kattrina laughed and handed him the food.

"Get a move on."

Twobellies nudged Evra.

"This one's firm. Give her hell!"

Evra laughed and handed her his plate.

"I take it you've gotten the third degree?"

"Its either compliments, threats, or sad eyes! No wonder no one likes this gig!"

"I like to think of it as music," he said leaning on the table. "You can't please everyone."

Kattrina laughed and added a few extra cherries on his ice cream.

"Here you are, Lord Von."

He winked and went over to a table.

-------------------

Kattrina finished her kitchen duties and headed over to Evra's tent. He was tearing the room apart.

"Evra?"

He whipped around and looked scared.

"Y-You haven't seen some music sheets laying around, have you?"

"You have them everywhere."

He dug his hands into his hair.

"I can't find it."

"Which one? Want me to help look?"

If he could blush, Evra would be setting a world record.

"N-no! Just sit there!"

Kattrina did as he asked with a confused expression.

"What's on it?"

"Some...private stuff."

Evra riffled through his sheets.

"Where was it last?"

"In my pillowcase."

Kattrina smiled.

"I used it to catch the adder."

She went over to Puff's bed.

"I'm pretty sure they're around-ha!"

Evra rushed over and grabbed the papers from her hand.

"Kattrina, you're amazing!"

Kattrina kissed his cheek but had a scale stuck to her lip.

"Sorry."

Evra scratched his cheek flustered.

"I-I kind of shed."

She wiped it off with a smile.

"That's all right. Um, don't get mad but I can't get sick or anything from them, right?"

He chuckled.

"Doubt it."

His hand grabbed onto hers.

"Maybe we should stay close and test it. I-I mean I hope you don't get sick! I was trying to-"

He mumbled and pulled her towards his bed.

"I-I want to say all the right things but they get jumbled and something wrong comes out."

Kattrina snuggled close to him.

"I understand."

Her hand massaged his shoulder.

"You all set for the party tomorrow?"

He nodded.

"Its not going to be as exciting as you think."

She still had the same happy face.

"But it will be my first winter holiday with the Cirque!"

Evra's lips twisted in nerves and joy.

"I...um...I have something...for you...but...I wanted to wait...until after everything..."

Kattrina blushed.

"I got you something as well. Swear you won't laugh at it."

"Is it dumb?"

She punched his arm.

"Kidding!"

--------------

The day of the party was mainly setting everything up. Tables were placed everywhere and food was being carried in by the barrel load.

"Kattrina, you got that?"

"On it, boss!"

She lifted up a pile of tableclothes and silverware.

Evra peeked out of the corner of his eye.

"Getting ready and cleaning up are the worse part of all of this."

Kattrina leered to the side.

"At least I haven't gotten close to Gregory."

Gregory, a man with more piercings than anyone else at the Cirque, had a special helmet on. He got the idea from shows that had a treat dangling in front of an animal to make them run. He put mistletoe on his.

"Gotta admit. Its better than the other stuff he's tried."

* * *

Kattrina rested on Evra's shoulder as they waited for Mr. Tall's speech. There was a grand pile of presents on stage, which would be passed out by name draw.

"Why does he draw names so much?"

"I think he likes to think of it as fate."

"Sorry to lean on you. I'm just tired."

She looked over to where the Wolfman was situated, his fur neatly brushed and chained down.

"His fur was so thick."

Evra combed his dark hair with his hand.

"Thicker than mine?"

She giggled.

"Yours is a good thick."

Evra yawned.

"I just want to get my present, clean up, and go to bed."

"What about eating?"

"Debating. I'd rather my present."

"Just make sure you give me your dessert first."

She stuck out her tongue before he stuck out his far longer tongue at her.

"Evra, you got something."

He pulled his tongue back in.

"Where?"

"On your tongue."

He stuck it back out and tried to look at it.

"No, I don't."

"Made you look. What kind of guy actually believes-"

He scooted back so she couldn't rest on him.

"That was terrible."

"My pillow! Get back here!"

"I'm not your old lady pillow!"

"Keep it up and you'll be my new snakeskin boots."


	13. Gifts

Mr. Tall stood on the stage, name bag in tow, and smiled at the seated crowd.

"Happy holidays, everyone!"

"Happy holidays!" the Cirque shouted clanking beer mugs and drinks together.

"During this time of year, we are reminded to be thankful for how fortunate we are. We performed wonderful shows this year and had a higher rate than compared to the last five!"

The crowd clapped.

"I am proud to work alongside such talented people who take what some may find as a disadvantage and turn it into something extraordinary. You prove time and time again that when people gather together, there is nothing that can stop them from living their dream. Thank you all. And without further ado, I will now draw the first name."

* * *

The whole drawing took about half an hour, Kattrina being called after the fourteenth name and Evra being fifth to last.

Jekkus loved his trophy and proudly tied it to the top of his head.

Kattrina smiled and inspected the friendship bracelet someone had made her. It had thick strands of her favorite colors and had her name woven into it. She wore a red dress, her hair waved, red heels, and matching gloves that went to her elbows. Gertha told her she looked like something out of a Hollywood romance movie.

Evra got a large plush anaconda toy. It said on the tag that by buying it, they donated money to snake houses across the world. He kept the snake wrapped around him, trying to make a new fashion statement. He wore a black dress shirt with white buttons, black pants, and a white rose clipped to his shirt.

"Around you, not on a purse!"

Kattrina and Evra were split up during the dinner but gave the occassional glance.

When it was time for dessert, Evra snuck up next to her.

"Hey."

She blushed and took a plate.

"Hi."

Evra cleared his throat as Nathan the cook stared.

"W-Want to eat over in my tent?"

"Sure."

They carried their loaded plates to Evra's tent and sat cross-legged on his bed.

"I'll trade you my blackberry pie for your chocolate mousse."

He licked his lips and handed her the bowl. She laughed and passed hers.

"My only weakness."

Evra put a small piece in his mouth and moaned.

He dapped on more whipped cream and took another bite.

Kattrina blushed when she saw the fluff on the corner of his mouth.

"You got a little something," she said eating a spoonful of mousse.

He licked the opposite corner of his mouth.

"There?"

She cupped his cheek and leaned close.

"No. Here."

Kattrina kissed right where the whipped cream was. Evra set his plate down and put his arms around her.

They fervently kissed for a few minutes before Evra's tongue shyly licked her lips. Before she could open her mouth, he moved away.

"What's wrong?"

"S-Sorry. I..."

He looked away and took a big mouthful of a piece of cake.

"Evra, what is it?"

"My...I mean...I didn't..."

She put her hand over his.

"Tell me."

He glanced at her before gazing as far away as possible.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"You're...you have those big eyes and you look scared."

She scooted closer.

"I'm not scared. I'm concerned. We were kissing and you just pull away. Did I do something wrong?"

Evra stood up and paced.

"Th-There you go again! I-I hate when I make you sad or nervous! Its never your fault but I-"

He groaned and looked her in the eye.

"I stopped kissing you because I never french-kissed anyone before."

Kattrina blushed.

"M-My tongue is big. I-I don't even know what to do. I...don't want to gross you out."

Kattrina stood up and hugged him from behind.

"Evra, Jekkus grosses me out when he hocks a loogie. Hans grosses me out when he hits on women and says how good he is with his hands."

She nestled her fair in his hair.

"You barely gross me out. The only reason you do is because you eat disgusting tuna."

He laughed and put his hands on her arms.

"Thanks, Kattrina. We both have our problems."

She pulled her arms away and scoffed.

"What are you talking about?"

Kattrina posed like a vogue model.

"Darling," she said in an italian accent. "I am perfection."

Evra matched her accent.

"Perfection? Such a lovely creature seems perfect but I know your flaw."

Kattrina arched her eyebrow as he went over to his recorder. He pressed a button and a noise rang through the tent.

Elephants.

Kattrina yelped and ran over.

"Turn that off!"

"Watch out! Its Dumbo!"

She tackled him to the ground after she hit the off button.

Evra kept laughing as she pinned him down.

"You're totally becoming my new purse!"

Her hand cupped his cheek.

"Yes. This will be part of the front."

The hand traveled to his neck.

"Definitely the straps."

Her hand slipped open a button and rested on his chest.

"A side pocket," she said moving her mouth closer to his.

Evra's heart pounded in his chest and he couldn't stop staring at that beautiful smile.

"Sounds nice..."

Kattrina giggled as she was about to get up. Evra reached up and held the back of her head. She lost her breath when she looked into his vivid yellow eyes.

"Evra..."

He leaned up and pressed his lips softly against hers but pulled away before she could kiss back. A smile mustered on his face.

"Thought I saw a bit of mousse."

Kattrina turned bright red.

Evra's eyes widened and he quickly got up.

"I forgot about your Christmas gift."

"Don't give it to me yet!" she said getting up. "Let me grab yours quick!"

As Kattrina rushed out, Evra pulled out her present from underneath his bed.

Evra stared at the overly taped green package with a twitch. It looked like something a little kid wrapped.

"Sorry it took me so long," Kattrina said coming back in.

In her hand was the neatest white box with Santa Claus covering it.

Evra stuttered and held his present behind his back.

"P-Puff helped me wrap this."

They switched presents and opened them.

Evra slid on the green gloves and admired the snakes on them.

"These are great!"

Kattrina gazed at the light pink scarf. It had her name embroidered on it, a little crooked but her name nonetheless.

"Don't tell anyone."

"You knit?"

"When you're on the road, you get bored."

Kattrina wrapped it around her neck.

"Its so warm and soft."

Evra looked towards the door.

"You know what we should do?"

She turned to him.

"Snowball fight rematch."

* * *

By the end of the night, the entire Cirque had come out to participate in the snowball fight. Twobellies would tackle trees while Jekkus used the fresh snow and icicles to make painful projectiles.

Evra and Kattrina teamed up and managed to hit Mr. Tall with a snowball.

And the pair were immediately hit with thirty.

Gertha was tougher than Kattrina thought. The woman wasn't hit with a single snowball but snuck up on at least twelve people.

Kattrina was hiding behind a tree when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Evra put his finger to her mouth to keep her quiet.

"We're surrounded. I found an escape route."

He got on the ground and crawled as if he was in a war movie. Kattrina smiled and followed his lead.

She looked over and saw Jekkus waving to get her attention. He winked and pointed at the trees.

"Evra," she said quickly getting up. "There's something I need to tell you."

He got up, concerned with the scared tone of voice, and gazed into her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Everything is about to change. I can feel it. Something bad is going to happen."

"Bad? Like what?"

"Like...this!"

She dove into a bush as Evra was pelted with snowballs from nearly every member of the Cirque.

"Show no mercy!"

"Dammit Kattrina!"

"All is fair in love and war!"

* * *

Author's Note:

I FOUND THE EVRA SONG! I love it and I am so happy I found it!

Thank you so much everyone! Review please!


	14. Evra's Song

Kattrina was woken up by someone tapping on her tent door. She barely remembered escaping the wrath of Evra before crawling in her room and falling asleep. Her clothes from yesterday were in a pile on the floor while she wore a long nightshirt.

Evra was standing outside, rubbing his arm nervously.

"Evra?"

She looked around and saw the sun wasn't even up yet.

"Do we have breakfast duty?"

"I do but I was just wondering if you were coming over to my tent later."

She rubbed her eyes.

"You woke me up to see what I was doing later?"

He half-heartedly smiled.

"Um, my bad. I-I was-"

Evra looked into her eyes.

"Th-There's something I want you to hear later."

"Hear? You mean a song or something?"

"Y-Yeah. I finally finished it and I could, uh, really use your take on it."

"Yeah," she said yawning. "But it can wait until after the rooster wakes up, right?"

He laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Ok. I'll see you later."

Kattrina closed the door and crawled back into bed.

Evra walked back to his tent and fell onto his bed, the same bed that he tried for the last several hours to sleep on.

He was able to sleep through storms, bumpy roads, and shouting drunks, but his mind was keeping him up.

It was time to play Kattrina her song before someone either found the song and showed her or something happened to the paper.

Puff laid curled on the end of the bed sound asleep.

"Lucky," he mumbled tiredly.

As he read over the words of the song, he tried to think of her reaction.

_Either she'll laugh at how stupid it is or she'll pretend to like it._

He shoved the sheet into his pocket and headed over to the kitchen. Jekkus was still wearing the trophy on top of his head as he started breaking eggs.

"Morning, Von."

"What's the menu this time?"

He pulled several sticky notes off the nearby wall.

"French toast, potatoes, sausage, bacon, sunny eggs, and crepes. Can't these people settle on one freaking thing? Next they'll be hammering us for lobster."

Evra chuckled and grabbed three sticky notes.

"I'll work on these. Who else is comin' in?"

"Who knows. After the snowball fight,I wonder if anyone will even be up for breakfast."

He waved a spatula angrily in the air.

"I refuse to slave over a hot stove to have them bitch that the food is cold because they slept in!"

Evra zoned out and thought over the inspiration for his song.

-------------------

There was nothing extraordinary that day. There wasn't some type of magical scenario.

They finished a show on the Sierra Morena in southern Spain and were heading to a small town on the border between France and Spain.

Evra and Kattrina were sharing a trailer as the others drove. He was laying on the bed as she stared at a map of Europe.

"Hey, we're going passed Barcelona."

"Yeah."

She looked over to him.

"Have you ever gone there?"

He shrugged.

"No. Kind of boring to me. There's too many people."

"What about the Sonar Festival?"

He sat up.

"What is that?"

"Its a festival going on right now. People, music, food! Basically all techno and stuff but some interesting stuff."

"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go."

He looked down at his hand.

"But what about the Cirque?" Kattrina asked.

She didn't know what it took to be able to leave the Cirque for a day.

"Are there protocals or something?"

He roared with laughter.

"No way! All we need to do is just take a vacation day. We all get maybe four a year. It lets us skip chores and have fun for a day."

He jumped up and grabbed Kattrina's suitcase under the bed.

"What do you wear to a festival like that?"

* * *

Evra was in his glory. Music blasted, people cheered, and not a single person bothered him. Some people were dressed to support their favorite bands, such as robots, cats, and even donkeys.

Kattrina hated the outfit Evra had picked out for her. Short jean mini-skirt and a white t-shirt with a knot in the front.

"Why on earth did you pick this?"

He laughed and glanced at his appearance on a store window.

"We look great!"

He wore red dress pants with a black belt and a red vest.

They walked over to a nearby beach, which was almost empty because of the festival, and sat down.

"I can't believe I never heard about this. How did you?"

Kattrina took off her shoes and rubbed her toes in the sand.

"Mr. Waisbren would take me here every so often. We would get one of the highest rooms of a hotel and play music."

He could understand her feelings. If he was away from the Cirque, he would be lonely.

What if she left? What if she decided the Cirque wasn't for her and went home?

He looked away and focused on the sand.

Kattrina couldn't leave. He wouldn't know how to live without her now. She brightened up his day in a way no one had before.

Kattrina leaned her head over and rested it on his shoulder.

"Thanks for coming, Evra. I like that I came here with you."

He put his arm around her.

* * *

Nearly the instant he got back to his tent, he wrote the lyrics as if they were natural. It was like breathing, it just flowed.

As the Cirque started lining up for breakfast, Evra felt his eyes widen as Kattrina entered. He looked away and tried not to stare.

She wasn't dressed any differently than normal but she had that sparkle in her smile.

The smile that sent his heart jumping to the moon and back.

"Earth to Evra? I'm hungry!"

Evra snapped out of his trance and quickly put food on the plates in front of him.

He knew she would be there any second and could feel his mouth dry up.

"Good morning, Evra."

He tried to say 'how are you doing' but it came out more like...

"The cows are mooing."

Kattrina blinked a few times.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"H-How are you doing?"

Kattrina stared at the plate as he focused on her face.

"Evra, you're spilling the syrup evreywhere."

He looked down and saw his counter had more syrup than the plate.

"Guess I'm tired," he said feeling himself blush.

Kattrina blushed and smiled before she let the others get their food.

* * *

The moment Evra was finished with his chores, he went to find Kattrina. She was washing clothes with some of the other members.

"Can't people eat normally and not get food all over their shirts?"

One of the men held up a t-shirt.

"Look at this! This stain looks older than a week! We aren't miracle workers!"

Kattrina was scrubbing a shirt.

"How is everything?" Evra said walking over.

The group looked up.

"Evra?"

"You don't usually come over."

"Hey, if he's come to help, jump right in."

"A-Actually, I was wondering if you guys needed anything."

"We're good."

"You sure?"

"Unless you want to start taking care of underwear, get lost!"

"Marvin!"

Evra dejectedly left and waited in his tent for Kattrina.

* * *

Kattrina showed up a few hours later, after sneaking some dinner, and headed to Evra's tent. She had a plate of food and tried to make sure no one saw.

"Evra?"

Evra was sitting at his drumset.

"Hey."

She pulled a chair over and sat next to him.

"What's up?"

He looked to the ground.

"I have this one song and I wanted to know what-"

"We covered that already."

"O-Oh yeah."

Kattrina laughed and handed him the food.

"Albert snuck me a plate."

Evra greedily started eating as Kattrina went over to Puff.

"So what's the song about?"

Evra tried not to cough as he felt a piece of chicken stuck in his throat.

"I...wrote it...a while back. Its a love song."

"Aw."

She ran over and hugged Evra.

"You big softie."

He was about to push her away before she kissed his neck.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

She kissed up his neck and reached his jaw. Evra twisted his head and took hold of her lips.

He hastily set his plate down on a drum and pulled her onto his lap. Kattrina moved closer and pressed her hand on his thigh.

Her tongue softly touched his lower lip, careful not to make him upset like before.

His mouth opened and his muscle timidly found hers. She moaned in encouragement and placed her hands on his shoulders. He became a little braver and started searching her mouth but pulled away.

Kattrina smiled and stared into his eyes. He returned the smile and started hitting some buttons on his computer.

"Here's the song. I just added my vocals, my guitar, and I used this computer program to fill in any instrument I wanted. I...wrote it for you."

He felt his fingers shaking as he hit 'play.'

"Is this the end of the moment  
Or just a beautiful unfolding  
Of a love that will never be?  
Or maybe be  
Everything that I never thought could happen  
Or ever come to pass and  
I wonder  
If maybe  
Maybe I could be  
All you ever dreamed, cause you are

Beautiful inside  
So lovely and I  
Cant see why I'd do anything without you, you are  
And when I'm not with you  
I know that it's true  
That I'd rather be anywhere but here without you

Is this a natural feeling  
Or is it just me bleeding  
All my thoughts and dreams  
In hope that you will be with me or  
Is this a moment to remember  
Or just a cold day in December?  
I wonder  
If maybe  
Maybe I could be  
All you ever dreamed, cause you are

Beautiful inside  
So lovely and I  
Can't see why I'd do anything without you, you are  
And when I'm not with you  
I know that it's true  
That I'd rather be anywhere but here without you

Is this the end of the moment  
Or just a beautiful unfolding  
Of a love that will never be  
For you and me?

Cause you are  
You're beautiful inside  
You're so lovely and I  
Can't see why I'd do anything without you, you are  
And when I'm not with you, I know that it's true  
That I'd rather be anywhere but here without you."

(Anywhere but Here by Safetysuit. ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE SONGS)

Evra looked over for Kattrina's reaction and saw tears gushing from her eyes.

"That was...for me?"

He held her as she cried.

"It was so beautiful. Thank you."

Evra smiled and ran his hand along her back.

"So, you liked it?"

She laughed and held onto his shirt.

-------------------

The chapel was small, it was raining, and his tie felt suddenly tight, but Evra Von didn't care.

He stood at the front of the altar, aged nearly ten years, with his brown hair slicked back. His eyes wandered the separated crowds of people in the pews.

Jekkus put his hand on the Snake Man's shoulder.

"You sure you won't trade her for mine?"

Evra chuckled and spoke in his now deeper voice.

"I wouldn't trade her for anything."

The music started and everyone stood up.

Evra's heart stopped as he stared at her.

Kattrina...lovely Kattrina with a snow-white wedding dress that moved as if it were a part of her.

He waited for it. The moment when he would wake up and find out the last few years were but a wonderous dream that would tear his heart apart.

When her hand locked with his, he stared into her eyes. He knew he couldn't live another day without having her as his wife.

She could make him joyful, angry, sorry; every emotion all at once with a smile, a frown, a tear.

Kattrina smiled up at Evra.

"You sure you want to put up with me forever?"

He smiled back as the priest started talking.

"Forever and ever, Babe."


End file.
